Politics Biden on Trump aide Rob Porter: 'It's long past due that he left'

19:51 08 february 2018

19:51 08 february 2018 Source:
NBC News

Orrin Hatch had two statements on Rob Porter's resignation

Moments after Rob Porter resigned from his post as White House staff secretary on Wednesday, reporters received two very different statements from Porter's former boss, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Load Error One statement offered a strong defense of Porter, while another was less robust and carried a sharply different tone as Porter faces allegations of abuse from his two former wives. Prior to working in the White House, Porter served as Hatch's chief of staff.

(Bloomberg) -- One of President Donald Trump ’ s closest aides resigned on Wednesday after a “ Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him ,” Kelly He won’t immediately leave the White House, she said, calling his departure Porter ’ s “personal decision.”

He was described by Politico as a “deeply influential aide who spends almost every day by President Donald Trump ’s side.” Hatch responded to the story with a full-throated and indignant defense of Porter . “ It ’ s incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized the White House Thursday for allowing a top aide to President Donald Trump to stay on despite apparent knowledge of his alleged history of domestic abuse.

That aide, White House staff secretary Rob Porter, resigned Wednesday after the allegations became public.

"I can't explain it. It's long past due that he left," Biden told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell when asked about Porter's access to the president, as well as White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

White House scrambles to contain Porter fallout

Rob Porter will be out as early as Thursday, a senior White House official said Wednesday night, in another signal the West Wing is scrambling to contain the fallout over his continued employment even though officials were aware of the domestic abuse allegations against him. Porter, a top White House staffer, resigned from his position Wednesday after allegations of domestic abuse were made public by his two ex-wives. Porter has denied their allegations.A top aide to White House chief of staff John Kelly, Porter was initially defended by glowing White House statements in spite of his resignation.

Trump aide Rob Porter ' s full statement. He ' s resigning over allegations about aggressive behavior with women in the past , but not leaving the WH immediately. pic.twitter.com/chrM6lm0pW.

' He is going to be leaving the White House. It won't be immediate,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Wednesday. A top aide to President Trump has resigned amid allegations of abusive behavior from his two ex-wives. Rob Porter , White House staff secretary, had been

"I understand that he departed — if you just look at from a perspective of one thing, the FBI didn't think he should get a security clearance," Biden said, commenting on reports that senior White House officials, including Kelly, were aware of the accusations against Porter, and that the FBI had not issued Porter a top security clearance.

"I'm having enormous difficulty understanding how this White House functions," he added.

Porter's two ex-wives, Jennifer Willoughby and Colbie Holderness, told DailyMail.com in a report published Tuesday that Porter was physically and verbally abusive to them during their marriages.

Holderness and Willoughby each confirmed the accounts of their allegations to NBC News on Wednesday. In a statement announcing his departure, Porter denied the accusations, saying, "These outrageous allegations are simply false."

White House aide resigns amid accusations of domestic abuse

White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned Wednesday, a day after a British newspaper reported allegations from two ex-wives of physical and verbal abuse.Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that it was "a personal decision Rob made," and that he "will stay on to ensure a smooth transition.

Rob Porter , highlighted above, is a White House aide and vetter-in-chief to President Donald Trump . Jonathan Ernst/Reuters; Allan Smith/Business Insider. " He ' s there, but he ' s not quite being of the circus aspect of it ," the aide said.

White House senior aide Rob Porter resigned on Wednesday after both of his ex wives came forward to accuse him of extensive emotional and physical abuse. “ He is going to be leaving the White House. It won’t be immediate.

Porter could leave the White House as early as Thursday, a White House official told NBC News, despite Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying Wednesday that Porter would remain on to ensure a smooth transition.

Biden said he believed the White House had to know that the FBI reportedly flagged Porter's security clearance because of the past abuse allegations.

"Sure they knew ... look, the culture's changing, thank God, but not fast enough," Biden said, referring to the watershed #MeToo movement, which has seen women come forward to detail their experiences of sexual assault and harassment.

"The idea that this would happen in the Oval Office — now, I don't know — I was briefed on the way in that when the president found out about it he said 'go,' and if that's the case, if the president never knew about it then good for the president," Biden said.

Porter's ex-wife on female Trump aides' responses: 'I expected a woman to do better' .
The first wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter said she "expected a woman to do better" after press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to say whether President Trump believed the abuse allegations against Porter. Colbie Holderness, one of Porter's two ex-wives accusing him of domestic abuse, wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post on Monday that she was dismayed by Huckabee Sanders and White House aide Kellyanne Conway's comments about the allegations.Holderness said that she was taken aback by Conway's comments on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Similar from the Web

(Bloomberg) -- One of President Donald Trump ’ s closest aides resigned on Wednesday after a “ Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him ,” Kelly He won’t immediately leave the White House, she said, calling his departure Porter ’ s “personal decision.”

He was described by Politico as a “deeply influential aide who spends almost every day by President Donald Trump ’s side.” Hatch responded to the story with a full-throated and indignant defense of Porter . “ It ’ s incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man.”

' He is going to be leaving the White House. It won't be immediate,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Wednesday. A top aide to President Trump has resigned amid allegations of abusive behavior from his two ex-wives. Rob Porter , White House staff secretary, had been

Rob Porter , highlighted above, is a White House aide and vetter-in-chief to President Donald Trump . Jonathan Ernst/Reuters; Allan Smith/Business Insider. " He ' s there, but he ' s not quite being of the circus aspect of it ," the aide said.

White House senior aide Rob Porter resigned on Wednesday after both of his ex wives came forward to accuse him of extensive emotional and physical abuse. “ He is going to be leaving the White House. It won’t be immediate.

White House Aide Rob Porter Resigns After Ex-Wives Accuse Him of - legalinsurrection.com

White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned Tuesday after allegations made by his two ex-wives. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Trump Administration and will seek to ensure a smooth transition when I leave the White House.”

Rob Porter , a senior White House aide who can often be found at President Trump ’ s side, resigned Wednesday after his two former wives accused him of abuse. Find out who Bannon is, what he wants for America, and why he wants it .

In the 24 hours before White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned amid reports that he had been Another recently-resigned Trump aide said that there would be a “smooth transition” around It also said that the FBI had interviewed both of Porter ’ s ex-wives about their respective incidents

Nearly a year ago, Trump signed a bill that made it easier for people with mental illness to obtain guns. CBS News asked for a photo of the signingWhite House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders finally responded to repeated emails and phone calls with a one-line note on April 19, […]

A group of House Democrats on Friday highlighted a bill they’ve authored that they say could have prevented Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school that left 17 dead. The bill would authorize a federal grant program for states that enact Gun Violence Restraining […]

Al Hoffman Jr., a powerful Republican donor based in Florida, said he would end his contributions to candidates and groups that oppose a ban on military-style weapons.A prominent Republican political donor demanded on Saturday that the party pass legislation to restrict access to guns, […]

Employees and associates of the Internet Research Agency, a shadowy company based in St. Petersburg, are accused of trying to interfere in the 2016 election.ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Operating from St. Petersburg, they churned out falsehoods on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. […]

Nine out of 22 have faced such questions, and the list is growing quickly.Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt are that latest to have their questionable travel practices probed. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday […]

President Trump's Stormy Daniels problem is getting worse. The porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, says she is ready to spill the beans about a 2006 extramarital sexual encounter with the president now that Michael Cohen, the president's personal attorney, has […]